I've been saying this since the Kennedy Center awards program....I think she's pregnant. I haven't seen her wear a straight-lined dress for several months. The dress she wore to the Kennedy center made her look huge....and I noticed that there were no close-ups of her tonight and she didn't stand up when the focus was on her. The prez said she was shy....I don't think so. Time will tell.

I think she outright denied being pregnant. I think she is a big woman...Someone said she was beautiful and I commented that no she isn't beautiful ...attractive yes but just because she is the First Lady, doesn't make her beautiful.

Oh my,gibby!!! I hope you don't get flamed like I did (on another board) after commenting on the "Black Widow" dress she wore to the inauguration.Didn't watch it tonight but guess I'll check it out on the "re-runs".
Ruthie,I agree with you.It's amazing what can be done with a little makeup and professional hair style.Without that she would be just as ordinary as most of us.LOL I think it's also possible since she is at the "menopausal" age,maybe she's on hormones and putting on a little weight,or her figure is just changing like the rest of us as we get older! LOL I have always thought she had horrible posture.

While I admire the First Lady for her many accomplishments I have never thought she was beautiful. She's an attractive woman but I think she often makes fashion choices that aren't becoming. I don't think those wide belts that she wears high on her waist do anything for her. They tend to accentuate her hips and make her look out of proportion. And then she compounds the look by wearing snug little cardigans and belts them too.

It's great that she wears different outfits and tries new things. And it seems that she can wear just about any color. Here's a web site that follows her fashion- it's really interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: First Lady's fashions

Well then maybe it's too many State dinners. She always had a bit of a stomach but the last two affairs it looked bigger than usual. That said, I think she's very elegant looking and the dress last night was a beautiful shade. It looked better from a distance.

I have to disagree here. I think she is beautiful and wish I looked even half as nice as she does.

I've always heard that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", so I don't know how one could refute another's opinion.

The Pres did not say Michelle was shy, he said she gets embarrassed. There were close ups..... I didn't watch, but found one easily on the web.

She doesn't look pregnant, nor huge, nor enormous, imo.

I'm sure this thread will be deemed disruptive & will poof very quickly.

I'm surprised if she doesn't have a wardrobe consultant. She is a tall woman, very often tall people have wide bones. I sort of doubt she's pregnant. But our First Lady , going back to Jackie Kennedy, always comes under such fashion scrutiny. And I remember when Obama was campaigning, his wife and daughters' wardrobes were very well covered by The Press.

She is not huge, or enormous..
She is an attractive large woman. She is big and strong. She's not a teenie tiny small boned lady. big doesn't mean fat, or huge.... just means not tiny! LOL She is 5'11" from what I've heard. I'd love to be that tall.

And this a fashion post about what styles might look better on her. It's about fashion don't know why it should be disruptive.

I don't know either, Kat & agree with you on your entire post! But be I believe it will be deemed "disruptive" .

A post titled the state of union address, that has nothing at all to do with the actual state of the union address?

Did anyone see the magazine where it says she is #3 of the most glamorous women in america? Give me a brake!

LOL... Jenuwin, maybe on hot topics! lol
this one should be labelled,

State of the Union address dress! lol

Or State of the Union ad dress. I didn't say she looked huge last night but couldn't get over how big she looked in the dress she wore to the Kennedy Center honors. She wore a beautiful gold pleated dress and it didn't do her justice.....too many pleats. I think it would be great if she was pregnant..wishful thinking

I agree with Kat and was going to say what georgysmom said about the title, lol.

State of the Union: A Dress

I have seen some large women and they look good in their clothe.obamas wife needs some good addvice,The belts and sweaters need to go.Have you seen Huckaby"s wife?She is large but she puts on clothes that fit,Someone needs to take her aside and show her how to dress as a "presidents" wife.

I loved the color of the dress, but did not think it was flattering to her figure. I've read she does have a wardrobe consultant, but I have a feeling Michelle likes picking out her own clothes. She often wears sweaters that are too short which then tend to draw more attention to her hips.

A little off topic here, but for years I've hated the way Oprah dresses on her talk show. He clothes always seem too tight and unflattering. She looks uncomfortable in her clothes.

I just looked up the picture. I think she's dressing to disguise her hips, but doesn't realize that the pleats add to the hips instead of minimizing them. I understand this, having done it myself for years!

She is still a young woman but I think part of the problem lies also in the fact that a lot of the styles are on the fringe of being to young looking for her. it also doesn't help that we are accustomed to seeing the First Lady(s) in more reserved outfits....and I'm not implying that her outfit was inappropriate...

I thought Joe Biden looked likea bobble head doll sitting behind Obama... I don't think his head ever stopped rocking back and forth.

I've seen worse dresses and outfits (like the black/red dress, ugh) but if she wants to run the risk of constant criticism by picking out her own stuff to wear or listening to bad advice, I say let her. She obviously thinks she looks good in her own style and choices. And sometimes, I would agree with her. :)

How come no one is mentioning her hair? I noticed it right off last night and thought it was a great cut for her. I love a good bob.

Oh, about that dress- seemed more appropriate to wear to a dressy dinner rather than a SOTU address, to me. A nice suit might have been better received.

I wish I looked half as good as Michelle Obama. She works out daily.

Quite a few are saying what I have thinking for a long time. She is a very attractive woman but I think most of the outfits she wears are not flattering to her.

I'm trying to figure out what this thread has to do with the State of the Union address. LOL

I'm not exactly knowledgeable when it comes to fashion, but I often read the New York Times and have noted what the fashion critics say about Michelle. They love her! She's regarded as a fashion icon who has a great personal style. And they like the fact that she wears relatively inexpensive off-the-rack pieces as well as designer labels.

I think the whole family is super attractive. I haven't seen Michelle lately, but I loved the way she looked during the campaign, etc. Except for the Election Day red and black monstrosity. :-)

She is not a fashion plate , as some former first ladies were, that is for sure.
She is a big woman, and doesn't dress to the best of her shape or size.

june

She may have been somewhat attractive if not for her mouth.

TRIVIA!

Did you notice that Biden had a purple tie, Pelosi had a purple suit and Michelle's dress was also purple?

That's because it was all very well planned. In order for it to appear that the Pres was speaking to both sides of the aisle, instead of them wearing blue or red, they wore purple which is the combination of the two colors!

By the way, can someone post a link to a full picture of her in the dress? I can't seem to find a full view.

TIA

I think the fashion writers and critics love her because they now have something unique and interesting to write about. After the more sedate and conservative clothing worn by Barbara Bush they now have a young First Lady who has her own sense of style. She has chosen outfits from many different designers, some are fairly new on the scene which enlivens the whole discussion of 'who are you wearing?" She combines custom designer pieces with off the rack items from Gap and Talbot. It's been quite a few years since we've had a First Lady who engaged the fashion minded as much as Michele Obama has. I guess you'd have to go all the way back to Nancy Reagan!

She wears what she likes and feels good in. Maybe it flatters, maybe not, but more power to her. We've seen enough conservative suits on first ladies.

Very interesting, magic!

Here you go Magic. Front and back..

I think she looks great...I don't find her style wrong, nor out of proportion. But maybe it's because she's in my age group..and I too have a larger bottom than top...and maybe it's a bit cultural too..My husband likes the size of my behind and hips. But he's also 4 shades darker than the President.
And most black woman aren't ashamed or try to hide their wider bottom half.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michelle's State of the Union dress

"My husband likes the size of my behind and hips. But he's also 4 shades darker than the President."

ROFLMBO!

Thanks Terri. I don't like the dress at all and it doesn't do a thing for her IMO.

I enjoyed the speech and rebuttal and even wore a purple blouse to work today :-)

I'm pear-shaped and try to wear clothes that disguise the fact.

The first lady seems to be more confident than I, and dresses without worrying about hiding her curves.

I don't find her to be a beautiful woman either but who cares, right? I think the dress was ugly. Large women shouldn't wear 2-tone dresses like that. It breaks them up... short and thick wasted, especially. Actually I think she looks best when dressed casually, regular pants and a nice shirt. Can't go too wrong with that. The fancier she dresses, the worse she looks. JMHO...

I don't find her to be a physically attractive woman at all and was surprised when a male friend gushed over her. (She sort of reminds me of Jay Leno!). But I do think she is confident wears what she wants. I have always thought that there's something a bit "off", and I never realized what it was until someone above mentioned her posture. You're right! It's awful. Look at that picture of her that terri posted; I think the dress, and most likely all of the things she wears, would look so much better if she would pull her shoulders back a bit.

I just took a look at the link Terri posted, and was surprised this is what all the fuss is over. I think it's a pretty dress, but maybe a little short-waisted for her. Great color(s). Love the haircut! I think she always looks terrific.

Everyone to their own taste......

Don't like the dress. It looks like something a little girl would wear. Pretty? She may have been when she was younger but she looks mad half the time in most pictures I've seen of her. Can't complain about her posture as I have horrible posture myself.

So glad I am not Michelle Obama. For a myriad of reasons.....

I loved the dress, the cut, color, fit, everything. When she left the White House she wore a matching purple silk coat that was also beautiful. There's a picture linked above of her before she and Obama left the WH, where she's in profile, and she's quite slim.

She has had some terrible misses, though, the awful black and red thing on Election Night, and that dreadful outfit she wore to visit Westminster Abbey in London. But she's learning.

Wow - I didn't think this would lead to general criticisms of the first lady's appearance. Anyway, the photos in the link above are a very limited view compared to what you saw when she walked into the event last night. I just thought that for someone who has I'm sure whatever they need in terms of fashion advice that she would wear something more flattering. I thought it was lovely dress - just not on her. But perhaps she does just wear what she wants regardless of whether or not it is the most flattering choice. Someone mentioned her hair - I thought it looked great. I liked the hair fashion much more than the clothing fashion last night.

I think she's pretty, in a very average way. She seems normal. Not capped and injected. My biggest complaint would be her posture. Every time I see her I want her to stand up straight. It's probably a habit she developed growing up as a tall girl, but it drives me nuts. She will look frumpy no matter what she wears.

On a side note. I notice terrible posture in most young girls these days. I have thought it was because of years of hauling around heavy book bags, but why isn't anyone teaching their kids to sit up straight or stand up tall anymore?

I like the dress, but she suffers from what all of us tall women do. It is short in the waist on her because it is made for someone shorter than she is. The color is pretty on her, the skirt is easy to wear and her hair is nice too. I suspect she tries to wear off the rack clothing and with her height, that just will not work.

I am so glad I am not the only one who thought the red and black dress was ugly! LOL

Holy cow, if Michelle Obama qualifies in your eyes as a "big woman", "slim women" must be constructed from drinking straws.
While not stunningly beautiful, I think she is fine. I also think her dress looks fine. How horrible she would feel if she could actually hear all the comments being made here, if I was her I'd never come out in public after this.
How nice it must be to be above criticism.

I'm hardly above criticism, and I get plenty, I'm sure. I'm my own worst critic. All I'm said is that she isn't tiny.
She's tall 5'11" from what I read someplace, strong, buff... probably nothing but lean muscle under all those styles.
People talk about those in public eye. Yeah, sometimes it's not nice, sometimes it is. We are human. Like I said, she is an attractive woman, and lots of people like to talk fashion.. which includes what looks good on a particular kind of body.

I highly doubt that Michelle Obama cares what anyone thinks about what she wears.